The unspoken tragedy of Thanksgiving is that it comes just once a year. A holiday dedicated to expressing gratitude and watching football should be a bi-weekly occurrence at minimum. Thanksgiving is also the only time that many of us try our hand at cooking a whole turkey, which is a shame because there are so many awesome ways to prepare a turkey. It wasn't easy, but we narrowed our favorite turkey recipes down to our top-3, ranked from simple to complex, with a couple of bonus recipes thrown in for Central Jersey's outdoorsmen.

Moderate -- How to Brine a Turkey -- If you've ever found yourself wishing that your turkey was a bit juicier, this recipe is for you. A brine is a great way to get moist and tender meat from a lean bird that spends hours in the oven.

Fried -- Deep-Fried Turkey -- Be sure to have a camera ready. Both for the reactions of your guests as they take their first bite and for the fryer if you even think of attempting this recipe with a frozen turkey.

Smoked -- Aaron Franklin's Smoked Turkey -- If you have the patience to become proficient on a smoker, I can safely assume you also have the patience to watch all three parts of barbecue legend Aaron Franklin's how-to video on smoking a turkey.